1976 - 2001 Transport 2000 Canada Celebrates 25th Anniversary
TransportAction is published bi-monthly by Transport
2000 Canada, a national federation of consumers devoted to the public
interest in transportation.
Publié à tous les deux mois par Transport 2000 Canada, une
fédération nationale d’usagers dont le but est de voir
à l’avancement de l’intérêt public en
matière de transport.
Bureau National Office
Suite 100, 117 Sparks St.
Ottawa, ON
P.O. Box 858, Stn. B
Ottawa, ON. K1P 5P9
Officers:
President Harry Gow
Editor/Office Mgr. Bert Titcomb
Membership Martin Collicott
Tel. (613) 594-3290 Fax. (613) 594-3271 Hotline: 1-800-771-5035 EMail: t2000@transport2000.ca Web: www.transport2000.ca
The above scene was repeated at numerous border crossings in the days following September 11th. Clearly, any customer waiting for goods to be delivered “just-in-time” had to wait. Numerous assembly plants, including one automobile plant in Ontario, were forced to shut down for several days. One can only guess what such delays cost the Canadian economy.
In contrast, freight trains moved across border points with few delays. As a result, both CN and CP reported increased car loadings. Hopefully they will be able to retain this new found business and shift more freight from road to rail.
Moving freight by means of a steel wheel on a steel rail is the most efficient way to move such material. Higher efficiency means less fuel consumption which in turn means less pollution. Since transportation is responsible for 27 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, all levels of government should encourage the shift of freight from road to rail.
One freight train can replace 275 trucks
In contrast, airlines are in a recession. Air Canada has reported a decrease in revenue passenger miles of 17.9 per cent. Canada 3000 has gone out of business. The crisis in the aviation industry is in some ways salutary, a number of things that sustainable transport advocates have been saying have become evident even to obdurate defenders of “more of the same”. In particular, the high costs of operating airlines as well as the need for investment in safety and security have become obvious.
Professor Peter St. John (retired) of the University of Manitoba has pointed to airport security screening by underpaid contractor’s employees as especially prob-lematic. All of this intense scrutiny has meant numerous calls on Transport 2000 Canada. The APSG and the Canadian Association of Airline Passengers have all been called frequently by the media to interpret and explain what is going on. Recently, in one day, Transport 2000 Canada had 26 “hits” in the media, according to Jim Goss, our media spokesperson. The authorities in Ottawa are calling us into an increasing number of meetings to discuss “what to do”.
Meanwhile some of our other files are progressing nicely; at last report, the Ottawa Diesel Light Rail project was meeting its target of five to six thousand passengers per day. VIA Rail is has purchased 21 new locomotives, new rolling stock and upgraded several stations. Commuter trains are growing in numbers in Toronto and Montreal. Now , if only we could see visible progress on a VIA Rail Canada Act and a federal contribution to transit costs!
Mr. Collenette, the Minister of Transport, has assured us that the federal government is ready to contribute to capital costs of transit where federally regulated rail infrastructure is used! He has also stated publicly that he wants rail service restored to Peterboro, Barrie and Collingwood. The Minister and others have publicly credited Transport 2000 with supporting such needed initiatives to good effect.
Your Board, meeting on November 9 -11th, approved a membership expansion campaign and voted on some meaningful policy resolutions (see page 5) which will give us a larger membership base for our advocacy work. In 2002, such renewal will permit us to be more credible and relevant. Your continued interest and support will remain as the basis for all of our activities.
Thank you, Harry Gow
If you want a charitable receipt for the year 2001, the envelope must be postmarked no later than December 31st.
Transportation in Canada is not-sustainable unless Canada makes serious changes
In 1998 the NRTEE (National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy) published a 50 page document titled:State of the Debate on the Environment and the Economy: The Road to Sustainable Transportation in Canada.
The document stated: Canada’s highly developed transportation networks are vital to our international competitiveness. They also contribute in countless ways to the vibrancy of the economy and the quality of our lives. For many Canadians, distance no longer poses a barrier to social and commercial interaction.
However, current patterns of transportation use are not sustainable. If existing trends are allowed to continue, Canada’s transportation networks will become more polluting, increasingly congested and, with urban sprawl, more costly to maintain. The economy, the environment and the quality of Canadians’ lives will suffer as a result.
Transportation in Canada is on an unsustainable path, with the transport sector generating about 30 percent of all greenhouse gases arising from human activity. Most indicators, including the projected growth in fossil fuel use in transportation, point to increasing impacts from transportation-produced air pollution in the future, in Canada and globally. Emission reductions will come from a mix of policy measures which have three basic objectives:
The federal government has acted admirably to help the troubled airlines, however it should also make a firm commitment to improve passenger rail services. There are many communities including several provincial capitals that cannot be reached by passenger trains. In many parts of western Canada passenger trains only operate three times a week. VIA Rail is required to serve many communities where it does not make a profit.
Both the federal and provincial governments contribute millions to upgrade major highways. In Nova Scotia both governments contributed $27 million for an expensive upgrading of 13 miles of Highway 101 which parallels the tracks of the Windsor & Hantsport Railway. This line could be upgraded for commuter rail service and extended beyond Kentville to carry much of the heavy truck traffic to and from the Greenwood air base and various agricultural businesses in Middleton and Bridgetown.
The same story applies to Cape Breton where abandonment of the rail line east of the Strait of Canso is an immediate threat. In the meantime, the provincial road budget is set at $34 million for this year on the island. Loss of this rail line will destroy any chance of a major rebuilding of the eastern Cape Breton economy.
Canada urgently needs a balanced transport policy. How long must Canadians wait before such a policy becomes a reality?
Many Canadians cannot afford to fly nor to own a car. At some point all Canadians will lose the right to drive because of financial or health related problems. What choices will such citizens have when they wish to travel?
All members of parliament, including the Prime Minister, should be required to travel once per year to their constituencies by some other means than by air or by car. Travel options would include: train, bus, horse and buggy, bicycle, dog sled, walking, rollerblading, skiing, snowshoes, etc.
A Balanced Transport Policy
is Needed Now!
The new equipment and station project are part of the federal government’s $402 million capital investment in passenger rail. Passenger rail across Canada has enjoyed significant growth in ridership and revenues in recent years. The capital investment will provide VIA with the modern equipment, tracks, signalling, and facilities it needs to meet growing demand, while ensuring safe, efficient operations.
“The federal government is fully committed to the revitalization of passenger rail,” Mr. Collenette said. “It makes good economic sense. It makes good environmental sense. And it expands the range of options available to Canadians in the transportation market place with more trains, faster trains, and better facilities across the country”.
Mr. Collenette added, “¨Union Station is the anchor for VIA’s national passenger service. It is Canada’s premiere multi-modal hub for intercity rail, local subways, regional commuter trains, and commuter bus service. The $10 million renovation of passenger facilities at Union Station is part of a nation-wide investment in better stations and facilities to improve passenger comfort, convenience and service.”
The new Genesis (P42) locomotive is the first of 21 new high-speed locomotives VIA has purchased from GE Transportation Systems. These locomotives combine the latest technology, safety systems, and proven reliability. Capable of speeds up to 110 mph or 177 km/h, they will be used to replace VIA’s LRC locomotives, and to expand services in the Quebec City - Windsor Corridor. The locomotives represent an $80 million investment and represent a 60 per cent improvement in emissions as compared to the locomotives they will replace.
However, the fuel surcharge will be retained for Canada - U.S. and overseas flights. Air Canada announced the temporary surcharge in May when jet fuel cost about 84 cents per U.S. gallon, more than a third higher than what it costs today. With the plunge in oil prices since Sept. 11th, consumer groups had been calling for the airline to scrap the surchange, which came into effect on May 31st.
Keep up your good work. I’d like you to emphasize that more money should be provided by the government to increase the availability of railway passenger services. It is not only the best way to see our beautiful country, but also the safest way to travel, and compared with auto-mobiles and buses, the best way to reduce air pollution.
signed
H. Halliwell
Ottawa
Andrew J. Knott
(drafted by John Bakker, V.P. West)
(drafted by John Pearce, President, T2000 Atlantic)
The APSG was begun some two years ago by Harry Gow, David Glastonbury, Mike Murphy and me as a “stand-alone”, but immediately after we were invited to come under the umbrella of Transport 2000 Canada, and gratefully accepted. Mike Murphy was elected Chairman.
Under his leadership we convened a symposium at Ottawa in the summer of 2000 on the topic of airport safety (rescue and firefighting) in Canada. It was held at Ottawa University, opened by the then Mayor, and addressed by a wide spectrum of speakers. The intent was to give an even-handed presentation. There were papers from Transport Canada, pilots, municipalities, consultants, the industry, and Mr Murphy. A moving final dinner address was given by Mrs Lyn Romano, whose husband was one of those who lost their lives in the Swissair 111 off Nova Scotia. Mrs Romano established the International Air Safety Association (IASA), of which she is chairman, with headquarters in New York and branches in several countries. IASA has been particularly active in a critical analysis of aircraft wiring and insulation as fire risk.
In the summer of 2001 Mr Murphy left Ottawa for a new post and I succeeded him as chairman. Before his departure Mr Gerry Einarsson, formerly of Nav Canada accepted the post of Executive Director of APSG.
With the crashes of 11 September 2001, aviation safety became news. Before that date it was difficult to engage the media unless there had just been an airborne incident. In that even they would typically ask for our views on the cause. It has been our policy not to comment on possible causes of air crashes, and for as very good reason: we do not usually know the answer, and speculation on the air is no more than folly.
Since 11 September 2001 we have been asked many questions of policy and have responded. Harry Gow has granted many TV and radio interviews, as have I. Although I had given a TV interview only once in my life before “9/11", I have now done so many TV and radio shows that I have lost count. They have been on CTV, CBC-TV, CPAC-TV, CBC radio in Quebec, Montreal, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, and Vancouver, and other stations in London, St Catharines, and Hamilton. There may have been others. Between 21 and 22 November there were two radio shows, one TV, three press interviews, and many telephone calls. I have had press interviews from writers for The Globe and Mail, Montreal Gazette, and Toronto Star.
On 25 October, David Glastonbury and I appeared by invitation before the House of Commons Committee on Government Operations and Transportation. I made a presentation, and we both took questions for two hours. The presentation gave an analysis of the hazards of post-9/11 commercial aviation and some recommendations for counter measures. Many of the latter, by coincidence or not, have appeared in Bill C-36 tabled on 22 November in the House by the Minister of Transport. T2C has been invited, with many from the industry, the unions, and other interested parties, to share in the work of a Transport Canada advisory committee on airport and airborne security, and on the associated working groups. Harry Gow and I are doing that.
There was one other consultative committee on which Harry Gow was approached in a related topic, and at his request I attended the meeting that was scheduled. It was not all that very dramatic, but all participants had to sign an undertaking under the Official Secrets Act, so I shall just be enigmatic.
Bill C-36 has just been tabled. I have seen notes, but not yet the text of the Bill. From the notes it appears to look towards enhanced security. It will undoubtedly be less than perfect, but we are in a less than perfect situation.